Software development is a constantly changing field. Any company that wants to thrive needs to keep up with the evolving trends in the industry. At TRUEXTEND, we have seen major developments and have reacted to them, to provide our clients with engineers who have the right kind of knowledge and experience.

What trends are developing this year, and maybe more importantly, what are we doing to embrace these trends?

1) Multiple Language Capabilities. One fear many clients interested in outsourcing have is that they may have a difficult time communicating with engineers who are not native English speakers. While it's not exactly a new trend for 2013, it does remain a significant priority for us to put great emphasis on teaching our software engineers English along with their engineering skills. It doesn't matter how great engineers are if they aren't able to communicate their ideas with other people.

2) Mobile software development. In the past, mobile platforms were not always considered a necessity.. In recent years, though, we have seen a constantly increasing need for development of applications that can be supported by mobile devices. To prepare our engineers for projects like these, we have created test projects in-house. This allows our developers the opportunity to work on developing new skills and techniques and gain practical experience, without taking time from client projects. When it comes time to work with our clients, the programmers are able to get right into the project without experiencing a steep learning curve.

3) Cloud-based software. While the move toward more mobile software development has occurred over the past few years, we see the cloud as the biggest current development we are working to embrace. The hiring of new engineers and training of our existing team in cloud-based technologies and best practices is a priority for us. Much like we are doing with mobile development, we have in-house projects that serve as a training and experiment lab. By preparing our developers in this way, we are able to best serve clients new and old.

One thing remains true no matter what year it is: engineers are only as good as the training and experience they receive. Any company that wants to keep up with current trends in the software development industry needs to start from the bottom up by, for example:

• Paying attention to new and emerging technologies

• Reading blogs, trade publications and magazines in related fields

• Participating at conferences and on webinars related to emerging technologies

• Providing ongoing learning and training for employees at all levels of the organization

All of these techniques are used at TRUEXTEND, to make sure our team is providing the very best services to our clients. These are only a few of the trends we're watching in software development. What are some that you believe will make an impact in the developing world? As 2013 continues, there are sure to be new developments – and we'll be ready to embrace them!